In its second meeting, the independent city commission charged with restoring New Orleans' public recreation programs trudged through a slew of critical items, from opening pools and hosting children's camps this summer to cleaning up lead-infested playgrounds to allocating its $10 million 2011 budget.

John McCusker, The Times-PicayuneThe New Orleans Recreation Development Commission expects a dozen pools will open by the end of May for summer swimming: A.L. Davis, Taylor, Behrman, Sampson, St. Bernard, Stallings/Gentilly, Sam Bonart, Whitney Young, Lyons, Lemann, Harrell and the indoor pool at Joe Brown Park, which was photographed Sept. 17.

Just 39 days into their tenure, members of the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission shuffled those pressing issues with more mundane matters inherent in a new bureaucracy: crafting bylaws, searching for a permanent executive director and deciding whether existing NORD employees will remain on the city payroll or transfer to a nonprofit tied to the new commission.

"NORD hasn't gotten to the point it is now overnight," Chairman Roy Glapion said, referring to the downward spiral that city recreation programs have taken in recent years. "I ask that the public show a bit of patience, because we are doing the best we can with the resources we have, and we are going to turn this thing around."

Vic Richard III, the commission's acting executive director, vowed that a dozen pools will open by the end of May for summer swimming: A.L. Davis, Taylor, Behrman, Sampson, St. Bernard, Stallings/Gentilly, Sam Bonart, Whitney Young, Lyons, Lemann, Harrell and the indoor pool at Joe Brown Park.

"Kids are going to be able to swim in these pools this summer, absent some catastrophic event," said Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who serves on the panel.

Richard also provided a list of 23 sites that tentatively have been picked to host summer day camps, which will run from May 23 to July 15. The roster still must be finalized, Richard said, adding that he is working to secure at least seven more sites to host programs to serve 1,000 teenagers and 6,400 children ages 5 to 12.

Divided by City Council district, the current list includes few sites in Districts B and D, which several members of the public noted and that Richard said he's working to correct. Some residents also questioned the timing of summer camps, given that many public schools hold classes through mid-summer.

Camp registration will be held April 4-9 and 25-30, Richard said, adding that camps will be free to participants.

Commissioners also reviewed the $10 million annual budget. About a third of the money -- $3.1 million -- is earmarked for recreation programs, with another $3 million split among athletics and aquatics, a summary provided by Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin shows.

Slightly more than $2.2 million goes to maintenance. The rest is allocated for general management and oversight of the city's recreation centers. About 80 percent of the budget derives from local revenue, with federal money comprising the rest.

In personnel matters, Kira Orange Jones said the commission's human resources subcommittee has discussed the possibility of transferring current NORD employees, who work for the city and enjoy civil service protection, to a nonprofit entity connected with the commission, where they would be unclassified, or at-will, workers.

She said a "hybrid" model also may be feasible, so long-time city employees "could remain part of the classified service." Updating members on the city's shuttering Mickey Markey Park in Bywater after soil tests showed elevated lead levels, Health Commissioner Dr. Karen DeSalvo said a contractor this week removed shrubs and vegetation from the site and overlaid the ground with geotexile, gravel and sand. Remediation efforts are expected to be finished by Friday, she said.

DeSalvo said she expects to nail down a schedule for sampling at other parks where children's programs are slated this summer. Testing will take six to eight weeks, she said.

"We will not close the parks unless we absolutely have to," DeSalvo said. "We don't need to be alarmed about the lead piece of this. We just need to make sure we take care of the playgrounds where children are playing."